Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora hasn't been second-guessed too often in his first postseason. But if there's been a near-constant criticism, it's been how he's handled third base. Cora has too often played Eduardo Nunez over Rafael Devers in the name of defense -- that despite Nunez being a poor fielder and Devers being a far superior hitter. The tide has seemingly shifted during the American League Championship Series against the Astros. And that paid off big time Thursday.
Devers came to the plate with two on and the Red Sox up 1-0 in the top of the sixth inning against Houston ace Justin Verlander. A couple seconds later, he deposited a three-run shot into the stands:
🍦 🍦 🍦
— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2018
Raffy comes up BIG. #ALCS pic.twitter.com/4DZ8H54pgl
Devers has now put himself among a select class of hitters with three or more postseason home runs before turning 22 years old:
Players with 3+ postseason HR before turning 22 years old:
— Red Sox Notes (@SoxNotes) October 19, 2018
Mickey Mantle – 4
Bryce Harper – 4
Miguel Cabrera – 4
Andruw Jones – 4
Rafael Devers – 3
To recap: good night, and a good start to what could be a storied postseason career by Devers.